The invention is in the field of gas discharge lamp units, such as fluorescent lamp units.
Gas discharge lamps, such as fluorescent lamps, comprise an elongated bulb which may be straight or curved and which contains discharge electrodes near the ends thereof and also contains a suitable gas such as mercury. A ballast must be provided for limiting the discharge current in the lamp, and "preheat" lamp circuits conventionally contain a starting switch for causing heating of the electrode filaments prior to starting of the discharge.
The above-referenced Campbell patent application discloses a compact unitary permanently assembled gas discharge lamp unit having a ballast resistor and other conductors extending alongside and adjacent to an elongated discharge lamp, and electrical connectors permanently attached to the ends of the lamp and provided with terminals so that a plurality of lamps can be connected together, end to end.